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I, Tyrant Volume 1
Not yet published
Expected 17 Mar 26- GenresComics
184 pages, Paperback
Expected publication March 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
My thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for an advance copy of this graphic novel that tells the story of a man fleeing his past, trapped by bureaucracy and discrimination with the only way to be free being a corrupt bargain involving faith, comics, and maybe destruction of all he holds dear.
Comics were an important part of my life from a very young age. Every visit to my grandmother scored me a candy bar and a comic bought from the corner store, something that sparked an interest in both reading, sequential art storytelling, and dreaming. My parents were big flea market, thrift store, tag sale people so I would flip through old magazines, and books finding cool things almost all the time. That's when I became aware that comics were bigger than guys in capes, friendly ghosts, and Sad Sacks in the army. I found books of horror, comics about people doing normal things, science fiction adventures, some written in languages I didn't know, and well a lot of porn. Some of these comics drew on different cultures to tell their stories, offering my a glimpse of a world bigger than the New England I was growing up in. I always loved these kind of stories, one that made me work, made me think, and made me see outside of my comfortable world. Like this work. I, Tyrant Volume 1 by writer e e zann and illustrated by Godfarr is a story of mad rulers, petty bureaucrats, reflecting on the past, and the darkness that offers a solution to problems, and a cost that might be too high.
Hafez Bashee is an Iranian playwright, well trying to be one. Hafez's play has earned him a fatwa from his own government, causing him to flee Iran to America, where he hopes to start over. That start is stopped by a notice informing him of court date by ICE, saying that his refugee status is being pulled, and Hafez will be sent back to Iran. To be executed. The reason for the fatwa was that Hafez was writing about Zahhak, an ancient tyrant in Persia's past, something that reaches out to Hafez, no matter how many people tell him to not listen. Zahhak has a corrupt bargain for Hafez, create a work that will bring praise to Zahhak, a comic book, that will bring the Serpent King back into the minds of people, and Hafez will be kept safe.
A graphic novel that might not be for everyone. I enjoyed the story, though it took a few pages, maybe the first issue to get a grasp of what was going on. Hafez spends a lot of time with his therapist, going over events, sharing things, stories told, conversations with others. I liked the disjointedness of the narrative, showing the chaos that goes on when plans are struck, when one becomes a pawn to governments, who care nothing about the consequences for their laws or actions. The mythology is interesting, something I knew little about, and once I got into the flow, I understood the story and where zann was going. The art is both gruesome and dark, fits well with the story, but might make some people uncomfortable. Especially a few panels. Well more than a few panels. I really liked how the art carried the story, and really kept things moving.
A kind of graphic graphic novel. One will get an idea if this is for a reader just by the first couple of pages. Stay with it, the story really is engaging, and the art quite good. I love the fact that Image is still doing works that don't fit the mainstream.
Comics were an important part of my life from a very young age. Every visit to my grandmother scored me a candy bar and a comic bought from the corner store, something that sparked an interest in both reading, sequential art storytelling, and dreaming. My parents were big flea market, thrift store, tag sale people so I would flip through old magazines, and books finding cool things almost all the time. That's when I became aware that comics were bigger than guys in capes, friendly ghosts, and Sad Sacks in the army. I found books of horror, comics about people doing normal things, science fiction adventures, some written in languages I didn't know, and well a lot of porn. Some of these comics drew on different cultures to tell their stories, offering my a glimpse of a world bigger than the New England I was growing up in. I always loved these kind of stories, one that made me work, made me think, and made me see outside of my comfortable world. Like this work. I, Tyrant Volume 1 by writer e e zann and illustrated by Godfarr is a story of mad rulers, petty bureaucrats, reflecting on the past, and the darkness that offers a solution to problems, and a cost that might be too high.
Hafez Bashee is an Iranian playwright, well trying to be one. Hafez's play has earned him a fatwa from his own government, causing him to flee Iran to America, where he hopes to start over. That start is stopped by a notice informing him of court date by ICE, saying that his refugee status is being pulled, and Hafez will be sent back to Iran. To be executed. The reason for the fatwa was that Hafez was writing about Zahhak, an ancient tyrant in Persia's past, something that reaches out to Hafez, no matter how many people tell him to not listen. Zahhak has a corrupt bargain for Hafez, create a work that will bring praise to Zahhak, a comic book, that will bring the Serpent King back into the minds of people, and Hafez will be kept safe.
A graphic novel that might not be for everyone. I enjoyed the story, though it took a few pages, maybe the first issue to get a grasp of what was going on. Hafez spends a lot of time with his therapist, going over events, sharing things, stories told, conversations with others. I liked the disjointedness of the narrative, showing the chaos that goes on when plans are struck, when one becomes a pawn to governments, who care nothing about the consequences for their laws or actions. The mythology is interesting, something I knew little about, and once I got into the flow, I understood the story and where zann was going. The art is both gruesome and dark, fits well with the story, but might make some people uncomfortable. Especially a few panels. Well more than a few panels. I really liked how the art carried the story, and really kept things moving.
A kind of graphic graphic novel. One will get an idea if this is for a reader just by the first couple of pages. Stay with it, the story really is engaging, and the art quite good. I love the fact that Image is still doing works that don't fit the mainstream.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Persian legend of the cursed prince Zahhak, who made a deal with the devil and ended up with snakes growing out of his shoulders, interweaves with the story of Hafez, who gets himself in trouble trying to retell that tale in repressive modern Iran, so flees to America, just in time to find the outlook darkening there too. And when he wonders whether it might work better, or at least he easier to get out there, as a comic rather than a play, the whole thing starts curving in on itself, but for all the vast desert landscapes in Zahhak's time, impressively depicted by Godfarr, it was already a pretty claustrophobic story well before that, damnation and body horror in the past refracted through frustration and paranoia in the present as Hafez' father, wife, shrink each take turns vainly trying to get him to drop this quixotic project. It's often pretty tough going, the knotty subject matter compounded by glitchy English and sometimes counterintuitive layouts, but where normally I'd just throw my hands up at that, here I do still feel a power to it. There's definitely something there, not mere flailing, and part of me wonders if a firmer editorial hand could have brought it to the fore, even while I also question whether the impenetrability might be inseparable from the impact.
(Netgalley ARC)
(Netgalley ARC)
November 1, 2025
I’m sorry, I had to DNF this one. Honestly, it’s a bit of a mess. It starts with our main character Hafez talking to his therapist, then it’s back in time with his father, then suddenly jerked sideways (or further back) to a guy with snakes coming out of his back who kills people and children, but then it’s a play, and then it’s back with the therapist and the dad … there’s no break or indication of what’s going on and the dialogue is … bad.
I don’t know if perhaps this book isn’t in the author’s first language or was written or enhanced with AI, but it’s bizarre, confusing, stilted and just, bad. The art is muddy and dark, but is still more evocative than the writing. Midway through the second book, I realized I wasn’t enjoying it, wasn’t understanding the story, and decided to stop.
This comic isn’t for me and I can’t honestly recommend it. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.
November 1, 2025
Well, that was disturbing.
Hafez and his pro bono therapist are working through his thoughts. His very troubling thoughts.
Infants are killed. Adults slaughtered. A king has sex with 3 women. The visuals are disturbing, but the graphics are a gritty thing of beauty in their own right.
Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for this ARC.
Hafez and his pro bono therapist are working through his thoughts. His very troubling thoughts.
Infants are killed. Adults slaughtered. A king has sex with 3 women. The visuals are disturbing, but the graphics are a gritty thing of beauty in their own right.
Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for this ARC.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews